Hey fellas, need some help here.. finally got the car to where i can get a look underneath to diagnose my starting problem.. so i go to check the starter with a voltmeter (which i probably did wrong btw lol) and i see this thing mounted next to it that im not sure what it is.. it looks "newish" so i thought it might be aftermarket. my guess is the PO had the same starting problems and this was band-aid of sorts instead of a fix. am i right? or a complete idiot? also, why isnt it hooked up to anything?

also if it helps.. might not even be related.. but it appears that there was a "security system" installed on the car which i removed (a horn in the front trunk and a shock sensor under the dash..) could this be part of a security system of sorts?

Click to view attachment

That's a Ford solenoid, it boosts the existing solenoid. I have one on my car.

why aint it hooked up to anything?

lol thomas you're the only one that responds to my threads.. maybe i should just PM you from now on heh

Otherwise know as the "hot start relay" ... Bosch makes a kit too .... a poor quick fix for a wiring problem.

It ain't hooked up 'cause someone fixed the original problem.

Yeah, this board is usually busier. Do a search, here and on google, you should find some diagrams. It is a very common modification. Your looks like it was once hooked up, but then disconnected. Funny how they just left the wires hangin, and there is some electrical tape there.

do you think hooking it back up would harm it? maybe it might help?
how would i hook it up.. i figured it was a hard start kit of sorts

i take issue with the definition.

it's a RELAY to back up the stock starter RELAY.

The SOLENOID is the little can to the side of the starter that when energized by the RELAY pushes the starter gear forward to mesh with the flywheel.

this extra box doesnt BOOST, it BYPASSES

If the car starts ok, don't hook it back up.

welllll it doesn't lol. been spending the last couple of days waiting on the manual and seeing what i can do to diagnose the no-start situation... thing is, it runs and runs great once started, but key-starting it doesnt work.. i dont even get a "click".. all i hear is what sounds to be a liquid of sorts near the gas tank area, but nothing cranks...

i was gonna replace the starter, but id like to test it first.. not too sure how though.. i will keep scouring the forum for good how to on starter problems

EDIT: and i agree on the bypassing, not really boosting

There is no "stock starter RELAY". The solenoid itself acts as a relay, switching the main battery power directly to the starter when the yellow wire goes "hot". The RELAY boosts the voltage going to the trigger connection on the solenoid.

So it really is a BOOSTER, not a BYPASS...

--DD

booster relay ?

so any input as how to wire that thing up? for testing purposes.. if it doesnt do anything, i might remove it

If you have a "no start" with the key ...

1.) Check the engine ground .... strap at end of transmission to body ... clean the connections.

2.) Add a second ground .... say blower housing to motor bar mount.

3.) Switch on back of key cylinder could be cracked and not making contact internally.

4.) Contacts on relay board could be corroded .... both the 14 pin main and 12 pin engine harness .... clean contacts.

After that ..... starter or solenoid on starter could be bad .... Use screwdriver or needle nose pliers to jump between spade terminal and battery lead ..... starter turns and engages .... starter is good.

wow cool ill try those things

i crawled under there today and im not sure i even have a transmission ground? does that sound possible?

and to check the key cylinder, jsut pop off the steering wheel and go to town? think i saw a how to on that on pelican

thanks!

My no-start was solved by more juice and better ground.
Have you tried jump starting from another car?
If that works, you need a new(er) battery.
My ground post on the body was full of rust, so I now hove the battery ground bolted to the fan housing (grounded to block, transaxle, body at ground strap).
Haynes Manual+the site with *search* = solved 90% of 914 problems

Possible but not probable. It goes from the transmission up to the floor of the trunk. Without it there is no solid ground between the starter and the Neg of the battery. I've heard that the current will try to use your throttle and clutch cable to get to ground if there is no ground strap is installed. - results can be pretty severe.

There was a thread a while back where it was suggested to run the ground from the neg of the battery directly to the transmission. Then from the transmission to the body through the normal ground strap. I really like that one and am going to try it when I replace the engine. It means that the High current stuff - starter and alternator, have a really solid root to ground.

If the yellow wire, that is connected to the red wire (for some reason) that goes to the solenoid, should not be bare, it could touch (or is it touching, hard to tell) some bare metal and ground out.

its got like a rubber coating around the connection and it's not touching anything else

can anyone label all the wires in that pic for me? still dont know how i would wire up that booster relay

I don't know that relay at all but the basic concept is something like this.

The yellow wire normally energizes the solenoid. In 'hot start' mode it instead goes to the coil of the relay - probably what that red extension is for. The other side of the coil goes to ground.

Then you take 12V from the fat red on the solenoid and take it up to the contacts. Other side of the contact comes down to where the yellow wire normally hooks up. My guess is that is what the 2 orange wires are for. Polarity doesn't matter - it is just a switch.

The theory is that the relay takes a lot less current to trip than does the solenoid. The low current trips the relay which provides the larger current to solenoid. This can make up for contact resistance in the route from the starter switch back to the solenoid. Masks the underlying problem. It can be argued that it is better for the starter switch because you are pushing less current through it. The down side is that you have more complexity - more to go wrong

hey, swl, thanks for the wire breakdown! but bare with me here, got a few more questions lol...

that red/yellow connection looks "shoddy".. should i undo those two and put the yellow directly on the solenoid where the red wire is currently?

why isn't there anything on the empty spade terminal on the solenoid?

correct if wrong:
- the yellow wire comes from the ingnition switch
- the FAT red wire connected to the nut in the middle of solenoid goes directly to battery + terminal
- the black cable running alongside the yellow is negative from battery

I had the no start problem when the car was warm a few years back. You can use the "relay/booster" or fix the solinoid problem. I took out the starter, took apart the solinoid, cleaned it well and reassembled it. It worked great for about two more years then messed up again. I bought a used solinoid, cleaned it, and it never happend again!

My $.02!

I thought my starter was shot after sitting for many a year, took it to the FLAPS and they bench tested it, they hit it a few times with a mallet and it has been running fine since.

ive heard of this approach too lol
is it just a matter of one person hitting the starter (not solenoid right?) while another person starts it?

would it be better to just take the starter off the car and clean the solenoid?

Yes, Yes and No

Can't really tell what the fat black one is from the picture but there should not be a ground in that area at all. Running alongside the yellow and dissappearing through the drivers side of the tin should be the alternator wire methinks.

Going back to the problem. No start right - no solenoid click at all. Is this consistent or intermittent. Some good advice so far but you really don't know exactly what the fault is. Before you go spending money check for the presence of 12 volts at the yellow wire when the starter is keyed on. Alternatively search on 'screwdriver trick' and have a go at that.

When power is applied to the solenoid spade terminal, it creates an electromagnet that pulls the bendix out and pulls the contacts inside together transferring power to the starter motor. Over time, like any other copper contact, they can get "burned" and make less than optimal contact. That's one problem.

The second problem is that the coils that form the electromagnetic can break, short or whatever and the solenoid is no longer functional.

Either play with the one you have or buy a new one, but first, make sure the starter motor is in good condition. A FLAPS will test it for you in hopes of selling you a new one.

***UPDATE***

SHE PURS!

that's right.. after about 4 days of flu-like symptoms, the runny nose and coughin subsided enough for me to crawl under there and try some of the suggestions here

well i remember the comment about there being WAY too many wires there to begin with lol.. so i thought to myself.. what is this little red "patch" wire for anyway? i disconnected the red wire from the spade terminal on the solenoid and the yellow ignition wire. Then, i connected the yellow wire directly to the solenoid's terminal. so just on a whim, i go to test start it.. AND BAM! started right up with VERY little effort. idled nicely just under 1k.

smelled gas so i figure somethin is too rich.. not sure how to fix that... but it started up just fine multiple times with ease!! im so excited right now!!

just want to say thanks for all the helpful tips though!!! oh! instead of spamming with another thread... I have a problem with my high beams.. when i pull the knob all the way out the lights flip up and theyre on like normal... when i push the knob in one "click", the lights cut off?? but they stay open, also the high beam indicator lights up then. not sure what's causing this??

anyways, thanks again for the help. the wealth of knowledge here is kind of comforting!

-Steve

Running lights!

i dont understand...
at one click, the corner lenses stay on but the headlights are completely off?

at full pull out the headlights are on, but the high beam indicator is off

im sorry... "running lights" is too minimal for me lol....

The lights are working correctly.

The "high beam" indicator is not actually the high beam indicator, it is a light that tells you that you only have the running lights (e.g., the bulbs in the turn signal buckets) on and not the headlights.

Turn the headlights on and pull the turn signal stalk back to turn on the high beams, you'll notice that the actual high beam indicator is a different light.

--DD

Well done! Amazing how often setting bodged work back to spec can clear up a problem.

most probably but please hunt for an actual gas leak. Given the PO's love for quick fixes you want to make sure that your fuel delivery system is up to snuff. Wrong size hoses, old hoses and such. It is pretty easy to find weeping lines. Look particularly around the fuel pump and all that rats nest down there. Also all the connections in the engine bay. May well be a waste of time but it will bring you peace of mind.

Can you tell that I'm tuned to gas leaks? Had her all ready to go for her safety, took her out of the garage, shut it down to go into the house for my paperwork and found a puddle of gas when I came back.

The running lights are only the 4 corner lights. They are for pre dusk driving and all headlights are off.

They are VERY minimal but that's what they are! lol